Electric receptacle



1960 ET. PLATZ ETAL 2,924,802

ELECTRIC RECEPTACLE Original Filed Oct. 20, 195] 2 Sheets-Sheet l j 3 2:1 .4; J9 -4 INV NTORS fawn/271425 JW/M i 2,924,802 TELECTRIC RECEPTACLE Elwood T. Platz, Joseph A. Messing, and William H. Frank, Detroit, Mich., assignors, by mesneassignments, "to I-T-E Circuit Breaker Company, Philadelphia, Pa, 2.

. corporation of Pennsylvania Original application October 20, 1951, Serial No. 32 ,272. Dividedand this application December. 19, j 1955, Serial No. 553,765

2 Claims. (Cl. 339-21) This invention relates to a continuous outlet electric "distribution system generally and particularly to an outlet receptacle utilized with such system. Such a system comprises a flexible duct'formed of a dielectric material which contains a pair of concealed conductors, and out- "let receptacles and feed-in devices that are readily attachable to the duct at any pointalong its length. The out- 'letreceptacle used is of the type that contains a plurality of apertures into which conventional pronged connector plugs can be inserted.

-Thisapplication is a division of application Ser.'No.

252,272" which was filed October 20, 1951, and now ts atent 2,924,802 a. Patented Feb. 9, 1960 Fig; 3 is a bottom plan view of an embodiment of the receptacle;

Fig; 4 is a sectional elevational view of an embodiment of the receptacle shown in Fig. 3, the view being taken aljong'the line 44 of Fig. 2 and showing a pronged con- :nectorattached to the receptacle;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the receptacle shown in Fig. 2 with the locking lever in the released position;

Fig. 6'is a perspective view of the underside of an embodiment of the receptacle shown in Fig. 2;

shown in Figs. 27.

Referring to Fig. l of the'drawings a continuous outlet conductor ductjl is shown for supplying electric current to the receptacle described herein. The duct 20 comprises folded over upon the body portion of strip but spaced abandoned, and assigned to the assignee of this 'applica- I tion.

=A primary object of the invention is to provide an outlet receptacle for use in a continuous outletdistribution systemwhich is easily and directly connectible thereto at any point along its'length without requiring piercing "of theconductor insulator covering, or any othertype of connection that may require tools orspecial working. Another object is to provide a novel type of outlet receptacle that is easily and positively attachable to the continuous outlet conductors, this receptacle being of simplified design and presenting an attractive functional appearance.

Another object of this invention is to provide an outlet is through a" fuse element that forms a part of the outlet receptacle.

Another object is to'provide ameans for establishing a body portion 3c formed as a relatively thin flat strip of dielectric material that has the side edges 3a, 3b thereof very slightly above the strip body portion 30 so as to provide slots 5 that receive the'pair of conductors 11, 13.

Theconductors 11, 13 are concealed from view by the folded over strip edges 3a, 3b butthe slots 5 provide very narrow passageways through which outlet receptacle conthe'polarity of the outlet receptacle so it can be attached to the'conductor duct in only one way to insure proper "fusing of the system, etc., or in instances having one wiregrounded, the grounded conductor may be uniformis irnpossible to detach the receptacle from theduct while there are prongedplug connectors (which would indicate a"load) attached to'the outlet receptacle. This arrangement is such that arcing, if any occurs, will'always be between the connector plug prongs and the associated re- -I ceptacle contact apertures rather than between the recep- :tacleconnections to the'duct conductors within the distribution' system.

2 A further object of this'invention is to provide a snap *bnnutlet receptacle having positive, direct electrical contactbetween' the receptacle and the duct conductors.

Still other objects and advantages of this invention will fbe apparent to those skilled in the art after a considerationof the description and drawings wherein:

"Fig. l-is a perspective view of a' form of the distribu- :-.tion:duct;

:Fig. 2-is a top plan view ofanembodiment of the receptacleshown attached to-the duct of 'Fig. 1;

tact elements subsequently described, may be insertedto make contact with the conductors 11, 13; Projecting outwardly from the upper side of the strip body portion 3c is a polarizing or positioning rib 4 that extends longitudinallytof the strip, adjacent to, but otfset from, the longitudinal center line of the strip. By offsetting the rib 4 it is possible to prevent the connection of the subsequently described outlet receptacle to the strip 3 in any butthe proper-manner. Accordingly, proper fusing of the distribution system is readily accomplished. "The-rib 4 of strip 3 thus establishes the polarity of the powerdistribution system for it is easy to ascertain that the hot or live conductor 11 is enclosed by thelip 3b and the ground conductor by lip 3a. 1

Figs. 2-7 show a receptacle 35 which is a preferred embodiment ofthe invention and which is adapted to be mounted onthe duct 3 shown in" Fig. 1. Receptacle 35 comprises a hollow, box-like case 36 molded of suitable dielectric material and has an elongated slot 37 through the top. wall thereof. A locking lever 38 is pivotally connected to case 36 by pin 39 so that the lever 38 may swing intoand out of the slot 37. Notches are formed in the sides of the lever 38 that cooperate with notches formed in the case top wall along the slot 37 so as to providea pair of spaced apart'apertures itlthat are adapted to receive the spaced apart prongs of a standard appliance cord pronged connector plug 41. Lever 38 has a cam stud 42 projecting from its underside that is adapted to cam the L-shaped, springlike, contact legs 45 and 46 of the receptacle contact elements 43 and 44 Figs. 8, 9 into abutting engagement with the conductors 11, 13 of the duct strip 3 to which the receptacle 35 is attached. The free ends of the L-shaped contact element legs45 and 46 are serrated to provide teeth that bite into the sides of the duct conductors 11, 13 and provide-a good electrical contact therebetween whenever the receptacle 35 is connected to the duct conductor 3. *The aforementioned contact elements 43 and 44 of .the receptacle 35 are shown in perspective in Figs. 8 and 9. Each of these contact elements 43 and 44 is a substantially U- shaped element that is inserted in the ease*'36 so as were hollow, connected compartments each one of which receives one of the contact elements 43 and 44. The con tact elements 43, 44 each have springfingers 48 with serrated edges that press against and bite into interior wall portions of the case 36 to anchor the contact elements.

within the case 36. From Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7, it is clear that contact element 43 not only includes one portion comprising the flexible spring like contact leg 45 but in addition includes a strip-like portion 49 that is reversely bent upon itself to provide a U-shaped prong receiving socket adapted to receive a prong of a conventional plugin connector 41. The socket 49 is aligned with one of the apertures 40 in the case top side so that a plug-in connector can be applied to the top side of the receptacle 35. The other contact element 44 that is adapted to be connected to the duct conductor 11 is shown in Figures 6, 7 and 9. The contact element 44 is a two-piece unit that has the pieces 50, 51 connected by an electrical connecting means in the form of a fuse 57. The contact piece 50 has a flexible springlike contact leg 46, that is adapted to be cammed into contact with the live duct conductor 11, and a U-shaped spring clip fuse holder 53 is also mounted on the contact piece 50. The other contact element piece 51 mounts on integrally formed U-shaped, plug prong receiving socket 54 and a fuse holder clip 55 in addition to anchoring tabs 48. iWhen a fuse 57 is inserted between the clips 53, 55, the two pieces of contact element 44 are electrically connected together sothat the prong receiving socket 54 can transmit electric power to is placed in position on the duct 3. Due to the off-center position of the rib 4 it is only possible to mount the receptacle 35 on the duct 3 with the fused contact element 44 engaging the live conductor 11 so the system is always properly fused regardless of the lack of care taken when connecting the receptacle 35 to the duct strips 3.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 illustrate how the outlet receptacle 35 is attached to and detached from the duct strip 3. Receptacle 35 first has its locking lever 38 raised to the position shown in Fig. 5 and this moves the cam stud 42 out of contact with the bent portions 60 at the ends of spring leg contact'members 45, 46 so that the contact members snap to the positions shown in broken lines in Fig. 7. With the conductor engaging portions v45', 46', at the ends of contact legs 45, 46, respectively, in the retracted position the receptacle can be placed in position on the strip 3 by placing the rib groove 59 over the duct rib 4. Groove 59 can be placed on rib 4 only when the fused contact 44 is positioned to engage the live conductor 11 due to the elf-center position of the rib 4 and groove 59. With the receptacle 35 positioned on the duct 3 with the groove 59 engaged with polarizing rib 4, the

locking lever 38 of the receptacle 35 can be swung into the case 36 to lock the receptacle 35 to the duct 3 and also establish an electrical connection of thereceptacle contact members 43 and 44 to the duct conductors 11,

v 13. As lever 38 is swung into case 36 the cam stud 42 on the underside of the lever 38 will engage the portions 60 of the contact legs 45, 46 and spread the legs apart. As the legs 45, 46 are spread apart by the cam 42, their serrated free end portions 45', 46 bite into the duct con- While a pair of connector plug prongs are positioned in: I

the case apertures'40, the locking lever 38 cannot be raised to its released position as it is blocked from up- 4 ward motion by the connector plug body as shown in Fig. 4. This is of importance for it insures that the plugin connector attached to receptacle 35 must be first removed from the receptacle 35 before the receptacle 35 is detached from the duct strip 3. As a result of this arrangement, arcing, if any, will be between the connector plug-in prongs and the receptacle sockets 49, 54 rather than between the receptacle contact legs 45, 46 and the duct conductors 11, 13. As previously pointed out the fuse 57 associated with the live conductor 11 will prevent damage due to any abnormal loading of the circuit or the like. To remove the receptacle 35 from the duct.3 one needs merely to first detach any plug-in connector mounted in the apertures 40 and thereafter raise the locking lever to permit the legs 45, 46 to disengage themselves from the duct conductors 11, 13.

The above specification presents a novel outlet receptacle for use in a continuous duct electric distribution system. Polarization of the receptacle provides a safe efiicient, readily usable source of electricity.

For a determination of the scope of the invention reference should be had to the claims in which we claim:

1. An outlet receptacle for use with a continuous outlet conductor duct, comprising a case including a first surface having a pair of spaced prong receiving apertures extending therethrough; a first and a second contact means mounted Within said case each comprising a first portion disposed in alignment with one of said apertures and positioned to engage plug cap prongs when said prongs are inserted through said apertures; operating means pivotally secured to said case and movable from a first position wherein said operating means is disposed within a recess in said first surface, to a second position, wherein said operating means extends beyond said recess; each of said first and said second contact means also including a second portion engageable with a duct conductor, a third vportion formed integrally with said second portion, and

conducting means electrically connecting said first and 1 second portions; said connecting means of said first contact means being integrally formed with said first and said second portions of said first contact means; b1asing means urging said second portions toward one another to a first position; said operating means, when operated from its said second to its said first position, engaging said third portions thereby moving said second portions from their said first position along diverging paths to a second position wherein said contact portions are operatively positioned to engage the conductors of a continuous outlet conductor duct when said outlet receptacle is properly mounted thereto; said second portions when in their said first position being operatively disposed to permit dismounting of said outlet receptacle from a con tinuous outlet conductor duct at any point along the length thereof. I

2. An outlet receptacle for use with a continuous outlet conductor duct, comprising an elongated case including a first surface having a pair of spaced prong receiving apertures extending therethrough; a first and 'a second contact means mounted within said case each comprising a first portion disposed in alignment with one of said apertures and positioned to engage plug cap prongs when said prongs are inserted through said apertures; operating means pivotally secured to said case and movable from a first position wherein said operating means is disposed Within a recess in said first surface, to a second position, wherein said operating means extends beyond said recess; each of said first and'said second contact means'also including a second portion engageable with a duct conductor, a third portion formed integrally with said second portion, and conducting means electrically connecting said first and second portions; said connecting means of said first contact means being integrally formed with said first and said second portions of said first contact means, biasing means urging said second portions toward one another to a first position; said operating means, when operated from its said second to its said first position, engaging said third portions thereby moving said second portions from their said first position along diverging paths to a second position wherein said contact portions are operatively positioned to engage the conductors of a continuous outlet conductor duct when said outlet receptacle -is properly mounted thereto; said second portions when in their said first position being operatively disposed to permit dismounting of said out-let receptacle from a continuous outlet conductor duct at any point along the length thereof; said case also including a second surface opposite to said first surface; said second surface having a groove therein operatively positioned on one side of the longitudinal axis of said case extending parallel thereto and adapted to cooperate with an of! center positioning rib of a continuous outlet conductor duct thereby assuring that said receptacle will be in a predetermined position when mounted on a 5 continuous outlet conductor duct.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 2,170,285 Fisher et a1 Aug. 22, 1939 2,254,280 Gottheirner Sept. 2, 1941 2,309,972 Messing Feb. 2, 1943 2,332,766 Von Gehr Oct. 26, 1943 

